About My Work

For the past 18 years, I’ve maintained a sole private practice in Lake County, Illinois where I’ve built trusted relationships with clients through authenticity, emotional intelligence and genuine connection. Drawing on decades of experience in Human Services and Counseling, I create a transparent and supportive environment where you can explore challenges, develop practical solutions, and transform insights into action. Whether you’re seeking emotional healing through therapy or strategic guidance through life coaching, my approach adapts to meet your unique needs.

My integrated approach combines evidence-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Life Coaching strategies, allowing me to help clients create meaningful change both in therapy and achieving their life goals. By merging therapeutic insight with practical coaching techniques, I offer a comprehensive framework for healing, growth, and personal development.

I believe in fostering genuine relationships built on trust, respect, and clear communication. My commitment to high ethical standards ensures you will receive exceptional care, while my coaching expertise helps you move beyond healing to actively create the life you envision. As your therapist, I’m invested in your progress, offering both compassionate support and actionable strategies to help you reach your goals. I show up through excellent listening skills, patience, and compassion. And I bring with me tools that include strategies, resources, a referral network, problem solving skills and the ability to help you see your problems from a whole different perspective!

You’re about to embark on a very important journey. Finding the right therapist can be the difference between affecting necessary changes in your life and just spending your time, energy and money. Everyone deserved to feel heard! Give me a call today.

… and I successfully navigate them every day. Mood disorders are complex conditions that significantly impact daily functioning, relationships, and overall quality of life. A seasoned therapist, like me, can help you manage your symptoms and live a better life.

Bipolar Disorder is characterized by distinct episodes of mania or hypomania – periods of elevated mood, increased energy, reduced need for sleep, and sometimes risky behavior – alternating with depressive episodes. These mood swings can last weeks or months, often requiring careful medication management and therapy to stabilize. Many individuals with bipolar disorder experience challenges maintaining consistent work performance and relationships due to the unpredictable nature of mood episodes. However, with proper treatment, people can achieve more stability and lead fulfilling lives.

Depression such as – Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) goes far beyond ordinary sadness, manifesting as a persistent state of emptiness, despair, and disinterest in activities once found pleasurable. This serious condition significantly disrupts daily life, potentially lasting for extended periods without proper intervention. Beyond emotional symptoms, MDD often presents physically through disrupted sleep, changed eating patterns, persistent exhaustion, concentration difficulties, and diminished motivation.

The most critical concern with MDD is the substantially elevated suicide risk—individuals suffering from this disorder are twenty times more likely to experience suicidal thoughts or behaviors compared to the general population, making timely treatment essential. While MDD can emerge following difficult life circumstances, it frequently develops without obvious external triggers, and many people face multiple episodes throughout their lifetime.

Effective treatment typically combines therapeutic approaches (particularly evidence-based methods like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) with appropriate medication when indicated. With proper support, even severe depression can be successfully managed, allowing for meaningful recovery and improved quality of life.

Anxiety – Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is characterized by persistent, excessive worry about various aspects of life, often accompanied by physical symptoms like muscle tension, restlessness, and sleep disturbance. Unlike normal anxiety, which can be adaptive and protective, GAD involves worry that is disproportionate to actual risks and interferes with daily activities. People with GAD often struggle with perfectionism, difficulty delegating tasks, and trouble relaxing. The condition can be particularly challenging because the worry feels uncontrollable and spans multiple life domains. Treatment approaches include CBT, mindfulness-based techniques, relaxation strategies, physical exercise, and sometimes medication. Many individuals learn to effectively manage their anxiety through a combination of professional support, lifestyle changes, and development of coping strategies.

… an unprecedented 40+ years of research conducted by John and Julie Gottman.

Starting out in my career, I had not trained in couple’s work. I found myself sitting in my office with teenagers whose parents’ marriages were falling apart. I watched these kids struggle with stress, chaos, separation, and often divorce. They were not okay. And I recall thinking I could make things better for them if I could help their parents fix their relationships.

Soon afterwards, I enhanced my couples therapy expertise by completing Levels I and II of the Gottman Method Couples Therapy training in 2012. This intensive training, developed by Drs. John and Julie Gottman, provided me with research-based tools and interventions to help couples build stronger, healthier relationships.

No one approach is the answer to all relationship issues. However, John & Julie Gottman broke the mold with over 40 years of original research on how we live in our marriages, fight, repair, heal and whether or not we remain together. John can have a 5-minute conversation with you and tell you with over 92% accuracy if your marriage will last! That’s remarkable! And it is because he knows what questions to ask – he and Julie did the research!

Today, I integrate comprehensive, research-based tools and interventions from the Gottman Method with proven family systems approaches to provide couples with powerful strategies for relationship transformation. This combination, refined through years of clinical experience, allows me to offer couples a thorough and effective path to strengthening their connection, improving communication, and resolving conflict. My approach is designed to give couples practical skills while addressing the deeper patterns that influence their relationship dynamics, maximizing their potential for lasting positive change.

… which provides unique insight and understanding that benefits our work together.

The work demands on corporate executives create a unique therapeutic landscape where traditional work-life balance concepts often fall short. These leaders frequently navigate high-stakes decisions that directly affect them and potentially many others, while managing global teams, sometimes across multiple time zones. The constant connectivity and responsibility can make it difficult to truly disconnect, leading to chronic stress that manifests in subtle ways – from sleep disruption to strained family relationships.

Many executives struggle with the isolation inherent in their positions. While they project confidence and decisiveness at work, they often lack spaces to process their doubts, fears, and personal challenges. This is where I can be of more assistance. The frequent travel and relocations common in executive roles can strain family systems – children changing schools, spouses sacrificing careers, and the challenge of maintaining meaningful friendships when constantly moving, oftentimes cross-country. I understand these pressures intimately, having spent over three decades as a corporate partner, managing multiple moves while raising children, pursuing a graduate education, and maintaining family life.

My personal experience helping executives, including my partner, navigate corporate leadership while balancing family responsibilities gives me unique insight into executive challenges. I have lived through the complexity of discussing another potential relocation with a reluctant teenager, coordinating the building of a home in another state while helping with homework, and maintaining a marriage despite my partner’s constant travel. This background allows me to offer both clinical expertise and practical understanding of executive life. We can explore strategies for maintaining authentic leadership while preserving your most important relationships and finding ways to prioritize personal well-being despite overwhelming demands.

The executive’s path to mental wellness often requires specialized approaches that acknowledge their unique circumstances. My combined clinical training and corporate experience allows me to provide relevant, practical support while maintaining the high-level of confidentiality and professionalism that many executives expect.

Having co-navigated corporate complexities, I understand that executive mental health and performance are intrinsically linked. Whether you are dealing with leadership transitions, organizational change, team dynamics, or personal growth challenges, my experience allows me to provide relevant, actionable insights while maintaining the highest standards of professional ethics. Together, we will develop strategies that not only address immediate concerns but also build lasting resilience in both marriage and family relationships.

Look no further. I am here to help.

I specialize in supporting individuals with alcohol use concerns, with my primary focus on providing a safe and non-judgmental space for this work. My approach is collaborative, individualized, and focused on empowering you to make informed decisions about your relationship with alcohol. Rather than prescribing a one-size-fits-all solution, I work alongside you to explore and understand your unique patterns, triggers, and the role alcohol plays in your life. Through education and guided self-discovery, we’ll examine how alcohol impacts various aspects of your life – from relationships and work to physical and emotional well-being. This process helps you gain clarity about whether your drinking patterns align with your personal goals and values.

Understanding that change is a personal journey, I respect your autonomy in determining what changes, if any, you want to make. We will work together at your pace, honoring your readiness for change and identifying strategies that feel authentic and achievable for you. Whether you are contemplating moderation, considering abstinence, or simply wanting to better understand your relationship with alcohol, I’ll support you in developing practical tools and coping strategies that align with your chosen path.

This flexible, client-centered approach allows us to adapt our work together based on your evolving needs and goals. You will find no pressure or prescribed outcomes in our sessions – instead, you’ll discover a supportive partnership focused on helping you make conscious, informed decisions about your alcohol use and implementing changes that enhance your overall well-being and life satisfaction. This process of self-discovery often leads to profound personal transformation, enabling healing and growth in ways previously unrealized. And it lands most people in a place of clear understanding of their relationship with alcohol, both present and future.

…which takes training, experience, and insight to manage at all levels. My training in developmental psychology, decades of experience and personal journey through these life phases, make me uniquely qualified to do this work.

As a therapist, I understand that different life stages bring unique challenges and growth opportunities. Young adults (18–mid-30’s) regularly grapple with identity formation, career establishment, and evolving relationships. This period is marked by significant transitions – from pursuing higher education to entering the workforce, forming intimate partnerships, and learning to navigate adult responsibilities. Many young adults experience anxiety around major life decisions and pressure to “figure it all out,” while simultaneously building their independence and social networks.

Mid-Range adults (mid 30’s-early 60’s) frequently face challenges related to career advancement, family planning, and work-life balance. Many are juggling the demands of young children, aging parents, and peak career responsibilities. This age group often deals with relationship transitions, whether strengthening long-term partnerships or navigating divorce and co-parenting. Financial pressures, including mortgages, childcare costs, and retirement planning, can create additional stress during these years.

Mature adults over 65 often enter a phase marked by life reflection, adjusting to eventual retirement, and adapting to physical/health changes. Many in this group are becoming empty nesters, changing family dynamics, or taking on caregiving roles for elderly parents. While some experience renewed freedom and opportunity for personal growth, others may struggle with questions of purpose and identity as they transition away from career-focused lives. Health management becomes increasingly important, as does maintaining social connections and finding meaningful ways to contribute to their communities. This group often brings valuable life experience and wisdom to therapy, while working through concerns about aging, legacy, and life satisfaction.

… provides a working platform that sports psychology alone often misses.

My Sports Behaviorism practice integrates Cognitive-Behavioral techniques with advanced coaching strategies to help competitive athletes optimize their mental game and achieve peak performance. By combining proven therapeutic approaches with performance psychology, I work with athletes who are committed to elevating both their competitive process and results.

Understanding that athletic excellence demands both mental and physical mastery, we focus on developing powerful mental tools that complement technical training. Through our collaborative work, athletes can learn to identify and transform limiting thought patterns, develop pre-performance routines, and build mental resilience that serves them both in competition and practices. Whether you’re facing performance anxiety, recovering from setbacks, or seeking to break through performance plateaus, we’ll create targeted strategies that enhance your competitive mindset.

Using Cognitive-Behavioral theory alongside mental game methods, we address key areas such as focus enhancement, emotional regulation, pressure management, and goal achievement. Each athlete’s journey is unique, so I tailor our approach to align with competitive goals and current challenges.